


three stirs clockwise

by martiniglass



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Found Families, Gen, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Canon, Witchcraft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:01:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26287630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/martiniglass/pseuds/martiniglass
Summary: "It was early morning on a Sunday, during breakfast, when he first heard the news that the empty house next door had finally been sold."Life for little Akira is fairly simple. He goes to school, does his homework, and is allowed one hour of television before bed. But when he meets his new next-door neighbors, he discovers that the world can be so much more exciting when you add magic into the mix and that family can include two retired protagonists and their friends.Updates will be bi-weekly
Relationships: Amamiya Ren & Seta Souji, Amamiya Ren & Yuuki Makoto, Arisato Minato & Kurusu Akira, Arisato Minato/Narukami Yu, Kurusu Akira & Narukami Yu, Seta Souji/Yuuki Makoto
Comments: 58
Kudos: 160
Collections: Fics with little context needed, Quality Persona Fics





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will be using Persona 3 FES and vanilla Persona 4 canon. As this author hasn't played P4Golden or any of the handful of P4 fighting games, and has no real desire to, any canon related to those games will either be absent or gently sprinkled in. For any new readers, this is a completely renewed version of my past fic, "a pinch of salt for protection". That fic has been deleted but the core of the project has remained the same. As always, comments and kudos, as well as constructive criticism, are extremely welcomed. I can't grow if I don't learn.
> 
> Thank you very much and please enjoy the fic.

It was early morning on a Sunday, during breakfast, when he first heard the news that the empty house next door had finally been sold. Akira was sitting at his usual spot at the kitchen table, strawberry toast in hand and legs idly swaying back and forth, as he quietly watched his parents hurry around the kitchen, going from one counter to the other as they both got ready for another day at work. Every now and again they would look his way to give him a smile or to shake their head at the jam on his face and hands, but it was clear that his parents were more focused on discussing the new neighbors and inviting them over for dinner than making sure he was clean.

“It would be a nice, neighborly gesture,” his mother said as she sat her dark brown briefcase on the kitchen counter, opening it with a quick flick of her wrist. Her long black hair was pulled up tight into a bun and her fancy shoes clicked as she tapped her foot against the floor. “And from what I’ve heard, one of the young men is the nephew of Inspector Dojima so it would be more than appropriate to welcome them into the neighborhood properly.”

Standing at the kitchen sink, his father sighed as he finished washing out his coffee cup. His white shirt’s sleeves were rolled to avoid the water and his black hair looked super shiny from the sticky gel he always put in it. “Dear, their moving truck has barely begun unpacking,” he said. He set his cup down with the rest of the drying dishes and straightened out his shirt. “It would be impolite to demand their attention as they’re just settling in. Who knows how much furniture they have. We should wait until tomorrow night.”

Akira watched, silent and with a mouthful of sticky toast, as his mother let out a huff. It was the huff that always meant she was beginning to get mad. “It would be impolite to wait,” she insisted. She finished up with her briefcase and as she closed it with a click, gave Akira a quick look. A strained smile reached her lips. “Akira, honey, please go get a napkin. You’re going to get jam and crumbs everywhere.”

Resisting the urge to just wipe at his face with his sleeve, Akira nodded instead and he hopped down from the table. A dark curl nearly got in his eye as he did but he was quick to push it away with a puff of air. His mother hated it when he “acted like a wild child” and using a sleeve as a napkin was as wild child as it got. He was seven and as both of his parents liked to remind him, he needed to remember to act like it. As he went over to the kitchen cupboard to find a piece of paper towel, he heard his mother speak again.

“We need to make a good first impression and I know that if anyone is going to show proper appreciation for a home-cooked meal, it will be two young men right in the middle of moving. From what I managed to see this morning, neither of them look a day over twenty. They’re so young, I don’t think they’d say no to someone cooking for them.”

“That is true,” his father said. Then, just as Akira managed to find the roll of paper towels, he heard his father’s tone go cold and he recognized it as the voice his father used when Akira did something bad. “Two young men living together. A bit unnatural, don’t you think?”

Akira carefully pulled a square of paper towel free and made his way back to the table, reaching his chair just in time to see his mother rolling her eyes. “Oh, you think every young person in this town is immoral,” she said, giving Akira another small smile when she saw him with his napkin in hand. “As I said before, one of the men is related to Inspector Dojima. I highly doubt such a respectable member of our community would endorse such vile behavior in our town.”

Brushing her hands down her dark skirt, Akira watched his mother give his father a sharp look. “And I’m sure that such subjects will not come up when the two of them arrive here for dinner tonight,” she said and her voice was just as scary, if not more, than his father’s. “We only have one chance to give them a good first impression and I will be very upset if that impression is ruined with you accusing them of such things.”

Akira scooted back into his chair as his mother spoke, setting his napkin to the side before he went back to his toast. He wondered, silently of course, what kind of vile behavior his mother was talking about. Maybe the new neighbors liked to use their sleeves as napkins too?

His father let out another sigh and, as he grabbed his work jacket that had been resting on one of the kitchen table’s chairs and slipped it on, gave his wife a nod. “Very well,” he said, bending down to pick up his own briefcase. “I’ll see what I can do about getting home early. Do you need me to pick up anything for tonight’s dinner?”

His mother shook her head and used her free hand to grab her purse from the counter. “No, I’ll have everything prepared before you get home,” she said. As she spoke, she glanced over at the clock that was on the wall between the kitchen and the living room. She was always checking the time. “And if I do need anything I’ll pick it up before I get home.”

Taking another, more careful bite of his breakfast, Akira watched as his parents gave each other a quick look over and then smiled when their attention finally turned to him. His father offered him a small nod while his mother quickly walked over to him to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Behave yourself until Mitsuko-chan gets here, alright? She should be here soon,” she said and Akira nodded dutifully. “Have a good day, sweetie.”

“I will,” he said, making sure that he’d swallowed his toast before speaking. “You have a good day too, Mom.”

His mother smiled at him one last time before she again looked over to the clock, her smile turning to a frown as the clock’s hands tick-tocked away. She gave him one last smile and then turned, ran her hand down her work skirt one last time, and then both she and his father were gone, the front door giving off a quiet click as they closed it. After such a busy morning, the quiet tick-tock of the clock was suddenly very loud and Akira tried to ignore the funny feeling he always got in his stomach when his parents left him alone by focusing on his last piece of toast.

He carefully used his napkin to wipe at his face and hands, knowing that his mother would be mad if he got the table sticky, before he hopped down from the kitchen table and placed his plate onto the counter next to the sink. The weird feeling was still there, the one that made his throat tight and his stomach twist. He raised a hand to grip at his shirt as if that would make the feeling go away. His sitter would be there soon and then he wouldn’t be alone, even if all Mitsuko-chan did was text on her phone and do her homework.

_ You’re seven, _ he reminded himself.  _ Almost eight! And Mom and Dad leave all the time. Stop being such a baby. Spend your time more productively. _

Even with his mental scolding though, he stood at the sink for a real long time with that twisty feeling refusing to go away.

A sound, loud and rumbly, broke him from his musings and he turned to look over to the glass sliding doors that led to the backyard. He heard the sound again, that time recognizing it as the sound of a big truck, and he forgot all about his twisty stomach.  _ New neighbors, _ he thought with more than a little curiosity.  _ I wonder what they’re like. _

His mother had mentioned their behavior and whenever his parents talked about behaviors, that meant that you were doing something wrong. But the new neighbors were adults and adults never did anything wrong. So maybe their behavior was bad and good at the same time? Curiosity completely overriding his nerves over being alone again, Akira decided that in order to understand just what his parents were talking about, he needed to get a better look at these new neighbors. And what if they had a kid with them? Maybe then Akira would have a friend outside his school, where the kids all pretended to like him until the grownups stopped watching.

Besides, there wasn’t much for him to do inside until his sitter showed up. All of his books were boring, his toys were all the way upstairs, and he was only allowed to watch T.V after dinner. Meanwhile, there were no rules against going outside alone as long as it was the backyard.

His mind made up, Akira hurried over to the sliding glass doors to put on his outside shoes before he slipped outside, making sure that he shut the glass door firmly so that no bugs would get inside. Outside was only a little colder than inside and the sun was already really high in the sky, so Akira didn’t bother going back in for a jacket. His shirt had long sleeves, it would keep him nice and warm.

He never spent a lot of time out in the backyard. His parents didn’t like it when he trailed dirt in the house and he didn’t like it when they were mad at him so he mainly stayed indoors. Due to that, the only worthwhile bits of fun to be had in the yard was a single tree that his father always complained about during the fall and the big, empty wooden flower pots that his mother always swore she’d do something with. Eventually. The backyard was also surrounded by a big brown fence that was around their whole house, offering Akira only the tiniest peek of the big moving van that was parked in the neighbors’ driveway.

But that was just fine. He had his ways of getting around the pesky fence. As he cut across the yard toward the tree, Akira looked over to the right and tried to see if he could spot anything else from the ground. The next door house looked the same as it had been yesterday when it’d been empty, brown walls with a blue roof and a couple of windows, so it gave away nothing about the new neighbors. And there was only so much the top of a truck could offer so with a huff, he quickly made it to the tree and jumped for the closest branch.

He’d discovered when he was six that the middle of the tree had really good branches for seeing almost his whole neighborhood and he could remember sitting on those branches as he watched his parents drive away for work. But that had been forever ago and now that his parents always remember to say goodbye before they left, he’d had no use for the middle branches. On that day though, they were exactly what he needed. Akira grunted as he pulled himself up into the tree, being extra careful not to slip or get his shirt too dirty. He hadn’t climbed the tree in so long, he felt like he’d almost forgotten how to do it! He had certainly forgotten how many scratches you got on your hands thanks to the rough bark. But after only one little scare when a tiny branch threatened to break under his hand, Akira had managed to find a steady perch within the tree’s middle and he settled down with his legs dangling over the big branch with a relieved sigh.

“Minato!”

The sudden shout nearly sent Akira tumbling out of the tree as he jumped and he was only saved by how big the branch underneath him really was. He turned to where the shout had come from and he saw in the house’s driveway, next to the big moving truck, a grownup. He was tall like all grownups and young, way younger than his parents, but he had grey hair like an old person and he was glaring at something inside the truck. He might have had hair like an old person but he was dressed kind of funny. His shirt was white but the sleeves were all rolled up, his pants had paint stains all over them, and even his shoes were all dirty looking.

The grownup had his hands on his hips like his mother would do when she thought Akira was arguing and he inched closer to the edge of the branch to get a better look. But the man didn’t seem to notice him watching. He was just glaring into the back of the truck.

“What did I say about the knickknack boxes?” he said as he climbed onto the truck’s metal ramp and ducked inside. Akira could still hear his voice echo out as he spoke though. “They’re too heavy for you. We just managed to get Mitsuru-san to stop hovering, I don’t need everyone suddenly popping up on our doorstep because you overexerted yourself. Again.”

Akira heard another voice from the truck, softer so he couldn’t hear what the person was saying, but whatever they had said made the grey-haired man laugh suddenly. “Oh, I can totally see that scenario playing out just perfectly. We’re not locking your friends out of the house. They already hate me as it is, I don’t need to give them even more ammunition.”

A moment of quiet and then Akira watched as the grey-haired man walked back out of the truck, a giant box in his arms, and next to him was another grownup. He was a little smaller than the grey-haired man but was dressed pretty much like him, wearing a grey shirt his mother would call “ratty” and pants that looked just as paint covered. But what really caught Akira’s attention was just how blue the man’s hair was. And it was long, like a girl’s hair! It was tied up in a bun like his mother but the blue-haired man’s bun was messy and lopsided and kind of looked like a sad cake about to fall over.

“Stop being so dramatic,” the blue-haired man said as he followed the grey-haired man out of the truck. “They don't hate you. And I’m not so invalid that I can’t handle a box or two. It’s not like we have any real moving to do besides unpacking boxes anyways, thanks to your mother-henning.”

The grey-haired man snorted and, after he moved the box to one arm, used his other hand to grab the blue-haired man’s hand. “Hey, that wasn’t my idea,” he said, laughing when the blue-haired man gave him a flat look. “Honest! I just might have sort of suggested to Aigis that we had a lot of furniture to shift around and she just so happened to decide to offer us her furniture moving services. You can’t tell me you’re actually upset about not getting to move the couch yourself.”

The blue-haired man shrugged and then leaned closer to his friend, resting against his side. “Not really,” he said. “It’s just fun complaining about it.”

Akira watched through the leaves as the grey-haired man laughed again before both grownups headed inside the house with the box still in hand.  _ Are they the new neighbors? _ He thought as he scooted further toward the edge of the branch, stopping when the fence separating the yards was right below him.  _ They seem nice enough for grownups, even with the weird hair and clothes. _

He also didn’t see any sort of behavior that was bad or would make his father sound so mad like he’d been in the kitchen. Maybe he doesn’t like how they dress? Or maybe it’s because of their hair?

Akira frowned a little as that thought rolled around in his head. He thought their hair was kind of cool. Breaking him from his contemplation, he heard the two grownups again before he saw them. It seemed as if the grey-haired man was really loud and the blue-haired man was really quiet.

“I say we turn it into a guest room,” the grey-haired man said as they reappeared out onto the driveway. “It’s not like I need an office or anything and the living room has more than enough shelving space. Plus, you just know we’re going to have to invite everyone over eventually. It’ll be nice to have a designated room for them if they decide to stay the night.”

They were still holding hands as they walked and the blue-haired man let out a soft sigh. “They’re never going to give us a moment of peace, are they?”

Akira watched as the grey-haired man leaned in closer to the blue-haired man with a cheeky grin. “Probably not,” he said but he didn’t sound mad or sad. He sounded happy. “But I can’t really blame them. Can you?”

The blue-haired man was quiet for a long while before he finally shook his head. “I guess not,” he said softly. “Not after everything we’ve been through...”

He was talking so quietly, almost in a whisper, that Akira could hardly hear him. With a small grunt he tried to scoot further across the branch, not noticing the ominous groaning sound coming from below him. The new neighbors were so weird compared to the other grownups, especially his parents, he needed to hear more. He moved further down the branch. Was the blue-haired man’s hair really blue or was it just paint or something? Maybe that was why the grey-haired man’s pants were so messy? And just what about them was so “vile”?

So lost in his thoughts and so focused on getting a better look, Akira noticed too late that he’d moved too far along the branch and that the wood behind him had begun to split in half. The branch creaked and Akira let out a frightened yelp, tears springing into his eyes as the tree limb quivered. He wrapped both his arms and legs around the branch in an attempt to secure himself, letting out another cry when all that did was shake the branch even more. The branch was gonna break! He was gonna fall! Akira squeezed his eyes shut as the branch continued to tremble. He was going to fall and then the neighbors would know he was spying on them and his parents would know he’d climbed the tree and he’d be in so much trouble, he was gonna be grounded forever!

“Hey, hey! Kid, it’s okay!”

The branch suddenly went still and the sound of splintering wood went away. Akira let out a shaky breath and slowly peeked open one eye to see what had happened. It took him a minute to see past the tears but when his vision finally became clear, he let out a tiny squeak of surprise because the grey-haired man was right there in front of him. He was leaning onto the fence, the wooden pickets digging into his stomach, with one hand under him to hold himself steady while the other was firmly gripped around Akira’s branch. When he saw Akira staring at him, the grey-haired man offered him a sunny smile. “There we go,” he said, his voice sounding a little funny. “Let’s just calm down, okay?”

Akira hiccuped but nodded. He could feel his tears running down his face and his stomach was still cramping just from the thought of how much trouble he was going to be in, but at least he wasn’t going to fall anymore. The grey-haired man didn’t look mad though.  _ Even his eyes are grey! _

“Good,” he said. He let out a little huff of air as he shifted. “Now here’s what we’re gonna do. I’ll keep this branch steady while you scoot back and once you reach the tree trunk, you climb back down to the ground. Deal?”

The mere thought of moving sent a shiver down Akira’s spine and even though he wanted to listen, because you always had to listen to adults when they told you to do something, he found himself unable to move. What if he shook the branch too hard and he fell? What if his arm broke? Or what if he hit the ground so hard his eyes would pop out like Aki-chan from school had always warned him would happen? So instead of doing the right thing and listening like a good boy, Akira just let out a whimper and clung to the branch even harder, more tears escaping him.

“Easy there, kiddo.”

Akira looked over past the grey-haired man’s shoulder and saw that the blue-haired man was there too, right at the fence. He didn’t try to get onto the fence like the grey-haired man though. Instead, he simply gave Akira a soft smile.

“Don’t be scared,” he said and Akira couldn’t help but think that his voice was very nice even if it was very quiet. “He might not look it but my friend here is pretty strong. He can keep the branch steady while you get down.”

The blue-haired man then moved a little closer to the fence and reached up so that he could rest one of his hands onto the grey-haired man’s arm, the one that was holding up the branch. It made the limb shake ever so slightly but it quickly settled with the additional support.

“But just in case, I’ll help him out a bit,” he said. He was still smiling as he gave Akira a little head nod. “Now just take a deep breath and start scooting back.”

Akira sniffed and then said, with a hiccup, “I-I’m really sorry for spying. A-and I’m sorry for climbing the tree even though I’m not supposed to! I don’t wanna be in trouble.”

Both grownups let out soft laughs at that and Akira couldn’t help but feel a little silly even as the grey-haired man said, “Kid, you’re fine. No one’s getting in trouble. Just scoot over to the trunk. I promise, we won’t let go. We’ve got you.”

Letting out a shaky breath, Akira nodded and even managed to wipe away some of his tears. “Okay,” he said, lifting himself up onto trembling arms. The branch remained steady as he did, true to the grownups’ promises and, after taking another deep breath, he moved. “Okay, okay, o-okay.”

It took him a long time to get back to the tree trunk. Every time he moved backwards, he would pause to see if the branch was still secure enough and every time the neighbors would assure him that he was doing great, he was just fine, you’re almost there just keep going. Finally, after a bit more shuffling, Akira’s back hit the tree trunk and he let out a relieved sigh. He looked over to the neighbors who were still holding onto the branch, though he could only see the grey-haired man from the trunk, and he felt a smile reach his face.

“I did it!” he said, suddenly so proud of himself.

The grey-haired man gave him a thumbs up as both grownups finally let go of the branch, allowing Akira to see the big split in the tree limb right behind where he’d been sitting. “Good job,” he said and then he huffed again. “Now I think it’s time that I get down or else I’m gonna get stuck too.”

But before he jumped down, the blue-haired man still hidden by the fence said something too soft for Akira to hear which made the grey-haired man give Akira another look over. “Are you sure you can get down by yourself now?” he asked, a look of concern on his face despite the fence posts still jabbing him in the stomach.

Akira wiped at his face with his sleeve and nodded. “Yeah,” he said with a sniff. “I can get down now.” He paused and then blurted out, “My parents were gonna invite you for dinner tonight.”

A look of surprise and then understanding appeared on the grey-haired man’s face and he smiled again. “Ah! You must be Kurusu-san’s son. She mentioned you to us when she extended her invitation just awhile ago.”

Akira offered him a wobbly smile which then turned into a surprised giggle when the blue-haired man’s head suddenly popped up over the fence. “It was very kind of your mom to invite us over,” he said as he continued to jump up and down in order to see over the fence pickets. His bun flopped from left to right as he did and Akira giggled again. “But she didn’t mention your name.” Hop! “My name is Minato Arisato.” Hop! “And he’s Yu Narukami.” Hop! “Who looks ridiculous, by the way.”

The grey-haired man, Narukami-san, glared at the blue-haired man, Arisato-san, and puffed out his cheeks. “Well at least I’m not hopping up and down like an over-excited rabbit,” he said and Arisato-san just jumped up again with a glare of his own.

Akira tried his best to hide his laughter in his sleeve, knowing that it was rude to laugh at grownups, but the neighbors were acting so weird. “My name’s Akira,” he said and, remembering his manners, added on, “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Both Narukami-san and Arisato-san offered him smiles, one big and bright and the other small and warm. “It’s very nice to meet you, Akira-kun,” they said together, Narukami-san still hanging from the fence and Arisato-san still jumping. Akira’s smile grew a little more confident at that. Maybe these new neighbors wouldn’t be so bad, even if they were grownups.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much to everyone who left kudos and comments on the first chapter! I really appreciated the feedback. It's been wonderful working on this project again and having those moments where the words just flow and don't want to stop. Fun fact, this chapter was suppose to only be about five thousand words but the protags just kept on talking. It was a very good feeling after such a long hiatus.
> 
> So here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy and remember, comments and criticism are always welcomed. Happy reading!

It was two weeks after his neighbors had rescued him from the tree before Akira saw them again. Despite both of their assurances that he wouldn’t be in trouble for spying, after his sitter had caught him up in the tree happily chatting away with the neighbors about their hair colors, his parents hadn’t been too happy about his backyard adventure. They’d made their displeasure very clear later that night when he hadn’t been allowed any dessert after dinner. But he had been allowed one of the bright yellow persimmons Narukami-san and Arisato-san had brought over, so there was at least that.

Dinner with the neighbors had been surprisingly okay. His mother had forced him into a stuffy white dress shirt and no dessert meant he hadn’t been given any of the Daifuku his mother had brought home from the store, but those little annoyances hadn’t stopped Akira from slowly realizing that Narukami-san and Arisato-san were kind of cool despite being grownups.

For every boring talk about their jobs (“I’m very lucky to be able to consult from home,” Arisato-san said as he took a sip of tea.), or Narukami-san’s uncle (“He’s well,” Narukami-san said with a smile. “My younger cousin is definitely keeping him on his toes. Rebellious phase, I guess.”), or their recent move (“I had always planned on moving back here after high school and with how expensive the housing is here, getting a roommate seemed like the smartest move to make,” Narukami-san said and Arisato-san nodded in agreement.) there were also moments when they would ask Akira questions. Did he like school? What were his favorite subjects? Did he play any sports? It was different because none of his parents’ friends ever cared to talk to him, but it was also a little bit nice to be included into the talks.

The dinner had ended that night with his parents and the neighbors happily exchanging numbers with the promise of another dinner, this time at the neighbor’s house. But that had been forever ago, fourteen whole days with only being able to wave at either Narukami-san and Arisato-san as he walked to school in the mornings, and Akira had begun to think that he’d seen the last of the newish neighbors.

Sitting at one of the park’s wooden picnic tables, his backpack’s straps gripped tightly in his hands, Akira let out a tiny sigh as he idly played with one of the blue bag’s loose threads.  _ Maybe they forgot about me, _ he thought. He was just a kid after all. Sure, the neighbors were cool as far as grownups went but that didn’t mean they’d want to be his friends or anything. He wasn’t even sure grownups could be friends with kids.

He sighed again and looked up, his throat growing tight. His neighbors hadn’t been the only ones to forget about him. The park where all of the students were led to after school was empty, save for himself and the three after-school caretakers who watched over the kids until their parents came to pick them up. They were huddled together a few feet from the picnic table, murmuring to each other and glancing at him out of the corner of their eyes when they thought he wasn’t paying attention. Above them all, the sky was a dark grey and an ominous rumble that promised quite the spring-time rainstorm just made the tightness in his throat grow.

Mitsuko-san had never come to pick him up.

One of the caretakers broke away from the other two and placed her hand onto Akira’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Don’t worry, Akira-kun,” she said. He glanced up at her and even though she was smiling, she still looked tired and her brown hair was all frizzled from the weather. “We’ll get this sorted out soon. Just be patient a little while longer.”

Akira nodded and watched as the caretaker let go of his shoulder in order to go back to her friends. The moment she was gone, he tried to swallow down the lump in his throat. Mitsuko-san had never been so late in picking him up before. Sometimes she was a little late because of all her school work but she had always come to the park eventually, normally with an apology and a little candy for Akira. But on that day, there was no sign of her. All of the other children had been picked up ages ago by their own families, a sight that had made Akira all the more worried, and he knew that the caretakers had no idea what to do with him.

He sniffled, tears growing as he tried his best not to fidget too much. Mitsuko-san wasn’t there, his parents were both at work, and it was getting so late. As he listened to the caretakers talk about their options with him, the clouds above them darkening with each passing second, and with his stomach twisted into knots from worry and hunger, Akira couldn’t help but wonder what he had done wrong.

Had he been bad? Was Mitsuko-san mad at him? Were his parents mad at him? Maybe they’d left him at the park as a sort of punishment for something he did. Because why else would they leave him behind?

“Akira-kun!”

Akira’s head shot up and he blinked back his tears at the sound of his name ringing across the park, the caretakers all jumping to attention along with him. There on the sidewalk, a little out of breath and with a large rolled up umbrella in his hand, was Arisato-san. His hair was down in a ponytail instead of a bun, he had on a warm-looking puffy jacket, and in his other hand was a bright yellow travel mug. Akira felt a rush of relief from finally seeing a somewhat familiar face and he jumped to his feet, intent on rushing over to his neighbor, when the same caretaker from before was suddenly behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder to push him back down onto the table's bench.

That didn’t stop Arisato-san though and he quickly jogged over to the picnic table, kneeling down to look Akira in the eye. “Hey, Akira-kun,” he said with a smile. His voice was just as soft as before. “Sorry it took so long. I bet you’re freaking out right now. Don’t worry, everything’s fine.”

Akira opened his mouth to say something, anything, but the caretaker gently cleared her throat before he could and both he and Arisato-san looked up at her. She was smiling but didn’t look all that friendly and when she got a good look at Arisato-san’s hair, her smile turned even sharper.

“Excuse me,” she said. Her tone was very firm. “But may I ask who you are? Are you on the pick-up list for Akira-kun?”

Arisato-san blinked and then stood up from his kneeling, his smile dimming. He offered the caretaker a small bow, travel mug and umbrella still in his hands. “My apologies,” he said and Akira was surprised by how formal his neighbor suddenly sounded. “My name is Minato Arisato, I’m his parents’ neighbor. There was a mess up with his normal sitter so his mother called me. I’m here to pick him up.”

The caretaker looked a little dubious at Arisato-san’s claim and she glanced down at Akira. “Yes, well, Arisato-san,” she said, her voice still hard. “I’m afraid if you’re not on the pick-up list then Akira-kun will have to stay with us until we can get ahold of one of his parents. I’m sure you understand. We can’t just allow the child to go running off with…” She looked at his hair again and her nose scrunched up. “Strangers.”

Arisato-san stared at her for a moment before he let out a sigh. Then, ignoring the way the caretaker was glaring at him, he crouched back down next to Akira and handed him the travel mug.

“Here,” he said. His smile was back on his face as he spoke. “Yu made some hot chocolate for the road. It’ll keep you warm while I deal with this.”

Akira gripped the mug with both hands, the hairs on the back of his neck going all prickly from the warmth that seeped into his fingers as he did, and he nodded before Arisato-san stood up, pulled out his cellphone, and walked over to the other two caretakers, the brown-haired caretaker still eyeing him as he did. As the grownups started talking, Arisato-san holding up his phone so that they could all talk to it, Akira popped open the little tab on the travel mug and took a hesitant sip. The moment the chocolate hit his tongue he let out a pleased hum and he took a bigger, longer drink. He rarely ever got chocolate. It was too unhealthy, according to his mother, and it caused bad teeth. But even with his inexperience in sweets, Akira could tell that the chocolate inside the mug was the best in the whole world. It was creamy and sweet and it made the tight lump in his throat finally go away with each swallow.

“Akira-kun?”

His cheeks were filled with hot chocolate when the brown-haired caregiver placed her hand on his shoulder again. He looked up at her and saw the other two caretakers heading out of the park, leaving only her and Arisato-san. She still looked mad for some reason and Arisato-san just looked annoyed but when he met Akira’s eyes, he smiled.

“Akira-kun,” the caretaker said again. “I need to know if you recognize this man. He says he’s your neighbor. Is that true?”

He swallowed the big gulp of hot chocolate and nodded, confused at the question. Didn’t Arisato-san already tell her he was his neighbor? “He lives in the house with the blue roof,” he said, his legs starting to swing back and forth as he cradled the hot chocolate close. “Narukami-san lives there too. They were over for dinner and brought persimmons.”

For some reason his answer made the brown-haired caretaker sigh while Arisato-san’s smile turned the tiniest bit smug. “Alright, Akira-kun,” she said and she took her hand away from his shoulder. “You can go now. Your neighbor will take you home.”

“Thank you,” Arisato-san said, moving past the caretaker and offering Akira his hand while the caretaker continued to frown at him. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s at least try to beat the rain home.”

Akira shifted the hot chocolate to one hand and, after making sure his backpack was secured nice and neat to his back, hopped down from the picnic table and gratefully took the offered hand. “Okay,” he said. “Thank you for picking me up.”

Arisato-san waved the rolled up umbrella in the air a bit as he led Akira out of the park and onto the sidewalk. “It’s no problem,” he said, popping the umbrella open with one hand a few moments into their walk when a few raindrops fell from the sky. “And I’m sorry for taking so long to come get you. Seems like your parents and your sitter weren’t on the same wavelength so let me give you the rundown.

“Apparently your sitter forgot to tell your parents that she wouldn’t be able to make it this afternoon,” Arisato-san explained. He gently pushed Akira to the side to help him avoid a growing puddle. “So no one realized that you’d been left alone until about half an hour ago. And since both your mom and dad can’t leave work right now, your mother called Yu and I to see if we could pick you up.”

He glanced down to make sure Akira was still paying attention as a few cars drove past the sidewalk and Akira made sure to nod to let him know that he was still listening. His mouth was just full of hot chocolate. Arisato-san chuckled and went back to watching out for puddles. “So it looks like you’ll be hanging out with us until your parents get home. Sound good?”

Akira nodded through yet another mouthful of chocolate, though it was out of habit more than anything because the idea of going to Narukami-san and Arisato-san’s house just made that lump come right back up to his throat. He’d learned early on when his parents had brought him to their grownup friends’ houses that every house had its own special rules and it was very important that you follow those rules or else you’d get scolded. The problem was Akira didn’t know the rules of his neighbors’ home, didn’t know what he could and couldn't do, what would get him in trouble. What if he broke a rule without knowing and they got mad at him?

He liked his neighbors, they were nice to him, and he didn’t want them to be mad at him. They’d never let him visit ever again if that happened. As these thoughts ran through his mind, he noticed Arisato-san looking down at him again for confirmation and Akira could only smile. It wasn’t like he could say no or anything. He was a kid and the grownups had already decided on what to do. And Akira knew that once a grownup made up their mind, that was it. No more questions. So instead of politely asking to go back to his own house, where he knew the rules and what he could and couldn’t do, he just asked, “Will Narukami-san be there too?”

Arisato-san snorted. “Kid, trust me. The only reason he didn’t come along was because he has the oven going. Hope you’re in the mood for cookies.”

_ Maybe this won’t be so bad, _ Akira quickly amended to himself as thoughts of more hot chocolate and cookies danced inside his head. And besides, he’d been wondering for a long time what the inside of his neighbors’ house looked like. His curiosity once again at full force, Akira gripped Arisato-san’s hand tighter and took another drink of chocolate. He wondered if the inside of the house was just as weird as his neighbors.

* * *

By the time the two reached their end of the neighborhood, the rain had already evolved from a light sprinkle to a full-on downpour that had only been staved away by Arisato-san’s giant umbrella. The travel mug, long empty of its delicious, chocolatey goodness, had been given back to Arisato-san halfway through their journey but Akira could still taste its sweetness as they quickly made their way up the empty driveway. He had a moment to glance over at his own home, its windows dark and empty, before Arisato-san opened the front door with a nudge of his hip and ushered Akira inside. Saved from the rain, Akira could immediately smell the scent of cookies wafting from further inside the house and his stomach rumbled despite the chocolatey treat he’d had earlier.

“Couldn’t beat the storm but at least we’re not soaked down to the bones,” Arisato-san said as he shut the door with his foot, leaving a tiny mud spot on it. “And as long as we get warmed up soon we won’t be catching any colds. Here, give me your jacket.”

Akira dutifully wiggled out of his own puffy jacket and handed it over to Arisato-san, who in turn hung it up on the coat rack right next to the door along with his backpack, his jacket, and the umbrella. As they both then took off their shoes, making sure to leave them right at the door due to how wet and squishy they were, Akira glanced around the little entrance hall that was the same as the one in his house. He wasn’t really sure what he was expecting. Most grownups he knew had pretty much the same kind of home; expensive furniture that kids weren’t allowed on, bookcases with boring grownup books with no pictures, and maybe a few paintings of flowers or rivers. Nothing exciting or fun. Narukami-san and Arisato-san didn’t seem like the kind of grownups to have such a boring home but then again, they were grownups. Maybe their home would be just as boring as the rest.

But after the shoes had been put away and Akira was led further into the house by Arisato-san, it only took a second of looking around with wide eyes for him to be reminded yet again of how different his neighbors were. The house itself was very much like his own, with the living room and kitchen all together with a dining table set in between them and a small, barely there hall on the side of the entrance that led to the upstairs. But that was where the similarities ended because his neighbors had green walls in their living room. Green! They were only half green, the other, higher half being the same white from his own house but still! And they weren’t the bright kind of green that hurt your eyes if you stared at it for too long, no. The paint was a much darker shade of green that reminded Akira of the tops of trees.

On one side of the living room were familiar looking fusumas, white like at his house despite the colored walls, and there was a small coffee table next to a comfy looking green couch and a T.V that rested in the corner of the room. But on the other side of the room was an absolutely massive bookcase. It was so big that it went right from the floor all the way to the ceiling, from one end of the wall to the other, and instead of just books, it was also filled with rocks and jars and… toys? And swords?!

Akira managed to tear his eyes away to look into the kitchen and his eyes grew even wider when he saw the equally odd looking room. The kitchen in his house was the same as the living room in that it was always clean and empty, with the only times it was used was by his mother when she was cooking dinner. Clean counters, empty white walls, and a spotless refrigerator were all that was in his house. But Arisato-san’s kitchen was amazing. For one, the walls were all a light blue color and the space above the sink and oven was covered in small shelves that held even more glass jars that were filled with different looking spices and plants. The counters were covered in what looked like flour, some of it even covering the kitchen’s floor, and the fridge was just as cluttered with various papers and post-it notes and even drawings! On the dining table was a plate that looked absolutely filled with square-shaped cookies, but how could Akira focus on the sweets when he was surrounded by the coolest house ever?

Arisato-san must have noticed how shocked Akira was because he just chuckled. “We collect a lot of stuff,” he said. “Now come on kiddo, let’s have some cookies.”

He gave Akira a gentle push toward the table but instead of joining him, he moved over to the stairs and looked up into the hallway. “Yu? We’re back. You up there?”

Akira hesitantly pulled out one of the table’s chairs, still too focused on looking around to care for the cookies, as he heard Narukami-san’s voice call out from upstairs, “Be right down! Let Akira-kun know he can have some cookies please!”

“We were already planning on stealing them, but thanks!” Arisato-san shouted as he joined Akira at the table. He quickly made for a cookie, nibbling on it with a happy-sounding sigh, but when he saw that Akira had yet to grab one he frowned. “What are you waiting for, kiddo? Have a few. Yu makes the best cookies in town.”

Permission clearly stated, Akira happily grabbed a cookie of his own and inspected it. He’d never had a square cookie before. “Thank you,” he said. The cookie had a few holes punched into the top of it but it smelt really good. “What kind of cookie is this? It’s square.”

“It’s a shortbread cookie,” he heard from the stairs and he looked away from the cookie to see Narukami-san walking toward the table. He was wearing a pale apron over his clothes but that hadn’t stopped him from getting flour all over his pants. He even had some in his hair. He also reached out for a cookie, with Arisato-san going for a second, and he bit into it with a smile. “I think they’re the best kind of cookie for a really rainy day.”

“Especially with tea,” Arisato-san said around a mouthful and he looked over his shoulder at the metal kettle that was sitting on the kitchen’s stove with a sad look.

Narukami-san rolled his eyes. “You’ve got two legs and a heartbeat last time I checked.” he said, though he was smiling as he spoke. “If you want tea, you know where it is.”

Arisato-san pouted and it looked so silly that Akira had to muffle his laughter with his cookie as he stuffed it into his mouth. He let out a surprised sound though when the cookie hit his taste buds because wow. He’d thought the hot chocolate was the best thing ever but the cookie was even better. He’d never tasted anything so good! The cookie was sweet and buttery and perfect and after it was gone, he couldn’t help but go for another one just like Arisato-san had.

“It’s really good,” he said though he made sure he wasn’t talking with his mouth full. He wasn’t at home but he still needed to follow his manners just in case that was a rule. “Thank you!”

Narukami-san beamed at him. “I’m glad you like them,” he said. He went to stand next to Arisato-san, a bit of flour flying from his hair as he moved. “Did Minato explain to you what happened with your usual sitter?”

Akira nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “He said she wasn’t on the same wave as my mom and dad and that’s why she forgot me.”

Both his neighbors looked a little sad as he spoke and Narukami-san tsked before he said, “I hope you weren’t too scared while you were waiting. I’m just happy we were able to get you before the storm really came in.”

“I-I wasn’t scared,” Akira quickly lied, not wanting his neighbors to think he was a baby. “I wasn’t alone and I had my jacket so I wasn’t cold or anything.” He paused in order to finish off his cookie before he continued with, “But thank you again for picking me up today. I promise, I won’t be in the way or touch any of your things without asking. I won’t break any rules.”

Narukami-san looked a little surprised at that and beside him, Arisato-san frowned a bit, but his smile never faltered as he finished his own treat. “Thank you, Akira-kun,” he said. “But I don’t think you need to worry about being in the way. And as long as you ask first, I don’t have a problem with you exploring either. My cousin loves to mess with the knickknacks all the time so we’re used to it. All the breakable items are top shelf.”

Arisato-san rapped his knuckles softly against the table and added, “We’re more than happy to have you over so no worries over rules, yeah? You seem like a polite kid, I don’t think we have to worry about you causing trouble.”

A warm, bubbly feeling started to build in Akira’s chest as his neighbors spoke, the same feeling he’d gotten when they’d rescued him from the tree, and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Okay,” he said, a little breathlessly. Underneath the table, his legs started swinging. They trusted him to behave. They thought he was polite. They weren’t even lecturing him about taking a second cookie. His neighbors were the coolest. Speaking of which... “Can I ask a question?”

“Shoot,” Arisato-san said. He had a third cookie in his hand.

Akira looked over into the living room and pointed at the two swords, one long and one short, that were resting on stands in the giant bookcase. “Do you guys do sword fighting like on the T.V?”

* * *

His mother arrived to pick him up later that night right before dinner time.

After his neighbors had explained that only one of the swords was real, the longer one being fake, Akira had spent the rest of the day doing his homework with Arisato-san’s help and learning about all of the things on the giant bookcase. From a kaleidoscope that made Akira dizzy to a squishy white and blue plush that Narukami-san called “Mr. Jack Frost”, the bookcase was a wealth of entertainment and stories and Akira had been more than happy to take advantage of Narukami-san’s offer to explore. After the fifth time he’d asked permission before taking down a treasure from a shelf though, both his neighbors had told him he was free to pick out anything as long as it wasn’t sharp so he had long abandoned simply asking questions and had just started to grab things off the shelves.

“What about this?” Akira asked. He held up a wooden ema, about the size of his hand, that had a dark, scary looking face with two tiny horns on its head. The wood was dark too and it was surprisingly heavy for such a small thing.

Narukami-san was sitting backwards on the couch, with his arms resting over the base so that he could watch Akira, a cup of tea in his hand, and he looked at the ema for a moment before he answered. “A fox gave it to me.”

Akira gaped at him and from the kitchen, he heard Arisato-san laugh. He didn’t care though because he must have heard wrong. “A fox?” he asked in disbelief. “Foxes don’t give you things.” He looked back at the ema and gave it a good, hard look. “Why did it give you this? Was it a trained fox? Was it a pet? Where did it live?”

“Breathe, kiddo,” Arisato-san said. He was pouring himself his own cup of tea. “Can’t have you passing out on us before your parents get here.”

Akira blushed but Narukami-san hurried to answer his questions. “You know the little shrine downtown? The one on top of the hill? There was a fox that lived there and after I moved here the first time around, she and I became friends.”

Yu gestured for the ema and Akira dutifully handed it over to him, his eyes wide with wonder. Narukami-san had a fox for a friend. How cool was that? He watched as Narukami-san examined the ema with a soft looking smile before he handed it back to Akira.

“Believe it or not, her and I helped a lot of people. She would collect the emas for me and I would help the people who wrote down their wishes. And that made the fox very happy because then more people would visit the shrine and help take care of it. After we became best friends, she gave me this very special ema as a gift and I’ve kept it ever since.”

He gave the scary looking face on the ema a tiny tap with his finger. “That face? It belongs to an oni named Ongyo-ki,” he said, his voice growing growly and low. Akira felt a shiver run up his spine and he unconsciously scooted in a little closer. “They say he was once controlled by a powerful sorcerer and that he was so good at sneaking and hiding in the dark, that he became the very first teacher of ninjutsu.”

“Yu,” Arisato-san said as he made his way to the couch to join them. “Easy on the theatrics. He’s gonna have nightmares.”

But Akira wasn’t scared at all. He looked down again at the dark face painted onto the ema with a new light and all he could do was whisper, “That’s so cool.”

Narukami-san beamed while Arisato-san rolled his eyes with a smile. “Careful when you put it back, okay?” Narukami-san whispered. “If you drop it, then Ongyo-ki might sneak up on you and get you when you least expect it!”

He let out a little growl and curled his free hand into a claw, swiping playfully at Akira, who muffled a giggle and quickly scrambled back, before a swift swat on the head from Arisato-san cut him off. “What did I just say?” he said, only raising an eyebrow when Narukami-san pouted at him. “Behave.”

Akira giggled again as Arisato-san let out a long sigh and rolled his eyes upward as Narukami-san continued to frown. “Look at what you’ve done. You’ve made me the responsible one. How so very dare you.”

“Well, one of us here has to act his age,” Akira heard Narukami-san say as he carefully put the ema right back where he’d found it. After making sure it wasn’t going to slip or anything, he took a tiny step back and exclaimed the rest of the treasures on the shelf closest to him. There were still so many! Jars of grasses, old looking coins, a doll with a pumpkin for a head! But as Akira’s eyes wandered to a higher shelf, one where he’d have to stand on his very tiptoes to reach, a flash of blue caught his attention.

There, sitting together in a little wooden box, were two dark blue keys. Akira moved a little closer to the shelf, his neighbors behind him still talking to each other. The keys weren’t too big, about the size of his father’s car key, but they were thinner than any other key he’d ever seen and instead of a black top, the tops of the keys each had a little mask painted onto it. The masks looked exactly the same, with one half of the face white while the other was black. They looked just as weird as all of the other treasures in the bookcase but for some reason, Akira knew that the keys were extra special. They were real treasures.

As he continued to stare at them, wondering how they got so blue and what they could possibly open, Akira felt the very tips of his hair shift. It felt as if someone had run the very tips of their fingers through it. He shivered and then shook his head, his focus on the keys finally being broken. No one was touching him, Narukami-san and Arisato-san were both sitting on the couch.  _ It was just the wind from the window, _ he told himself firmly and as if to emphasize his own scolding, he looked over to the living room window that Arisato-san had opened earlier after the rainstorm had passed.  _ See? Just the wind. _

Shaking his head again, Akira turned his attention to a bright pink stone, smooth and about the size of his palm, that was sitting next to the weird keys, which was practically begging to be picked up. Grinning ear to ear, Akira reached up to pull it down and the moment it was in his hands, a wave of calm washed over him. He hadn’t even realized he was so nervous about the wind blowing his hair.

With the pink stone firmly in hand, he turned back to his neighbors and promptly forgot all about the keys. “What about this?” he asked, not even caring that he’d interrupted the two grownups. The stone was warm in his hand and the longer he held it, the more he liked it. “It’s really nice.”

Arisato-san beckoned him closer and smiled when he got a good look at the stone. “Ah, good old rose quartz,” he said. “I think this is one of yours, Yu.”

Narukami-san squished in closer to where Arisato-san was sitting and propped his chin on top of his head. “Hmm, you might be right,” he said, ignoring the glare Arisato-san was giving him. Akira just smiled harder. His neighbors were really good friends. “Though it really says something about the both of us that I can’t remember where I got this one.”

“You have a lot of rocks,” Akira noted as he looked back at the many shelves. Most of them had at least two or three rocks on them, big and small.

“We like rocks,” Arisato-san said while he pushed Narukami-san off of him. “And some rocks, like the rose quartz you have there, can be really helpful when you’re feeling sad or hurt.”

_ Helpful rocks? _ Akira wondered, examining the stone again.  _ How can rocks help you? _

But before he could voice his question, there was a loud knock at the front door that caused all three of them to jump ever so slightly. Both Narukami-san and Arisato-san quickly got up from the couch, leaving their cups of tea on the coffee table, and made their way to the door. Akira, not knowing what else to do, simply went back to the stone. He wondered, as the sound of the front door opening reached him, how it was so warm. It couldn’t just be from his hand, right?

“Akira?”

He looked up from the stone and his heart jumped when he saw his mother standing in the entrance hall, dressed in her normal work clothes. She looked tired but she gave him a smile and even crouched down when he ran towards her. “Oh Akira, sweetie, I’m so sorry about today,” she said, wrapping him up in a hug.

Akira snuggled into her arms and let out a happy sigh. His neighbors were cool and very nice but seeing his mom just made that happy feeling grow even bigger in his chest. “It’s okay,” he said into her shoulder. “I wasn’t even scared at all. And Arisato-san and Narukami-san were really nice to me.”

His mother chuckled and pressed a kiss to his hair. “Good,” she said. She gave him one last squeeze before she stood back up, though she kept him close with a hand on his shoulder. She turned to Arisato-san and Narukami-san and gave them a small bow, a few strands of hair that had managed to escape from her bun falling over her face as she did.

“Thank you so much for this afternoon,” she said. “Both my husband and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to watch Akira for us. With both of our jobs it’s almost impossible to just get up and leave.”

With his mother’s attention firmly on the neighbors, Akira went back to the rose quartz as he leaned into her side. He let their words wash over him, only looking up at them occasionally because he knew grownup talk when he saw it. His mother would only shush him if he tried to talk as well.

“It was no trouble,” Narukami-san said. “Akira-kun was the perfect house guest. If you don’t mind me asking, is your sitter alright?”

His mother sighed and raised a hand up to her forehead, pushing her hair back into place. “Yes, she’s just fine. Though I must admit she’s not my most favorite person at the moment. I spoke to her today and she’s apparently quitting in order to focus more on her studies.”

Arisato-san tsked. “You mentioned she’s only a few months away from graduation? She must be trying to get into university.”

His mother nodded. “A goal that I approve of but it does put my husband and I in quite the predicament,” she admitted. “We both work full-time and I’ve never been comfortable leaving Akira at one of those day-care centers. I’ve heard the stories coming out of those places so we’ve always tried to keep our child care at home. It’s going to be difficult finding a replacement for Mitsuko-chan, especially with the school year already in full swing.”

There was a slight pause and then his mother let out a small laugh. “I’m sorry,” she said, shifting on her heels. “I didn’t mean to bombard you both with my troubles. I don’t know what came over me.”

Narukami-san waved off her apology. “It’s alright,” he said and he gave her a quirky smile. “I’ve been told many times that we’re both pretty easy to talk to.” He hesitated and then said, “Kurusu-san, I think I can speak for both Minato and I when I say that Akira-kun is a very well-behaved child. If both you and your husband are comfortable with it, Akira-kun is more than welcomed to come here after school until you can find a proper replacement for your sitter.”

Akira’s head shot up just in time to see his mother blink in surprise.  _ Narukami-san and Arisato-san want to be my new sitters? _ He thought, excitement already building inside him. He could come back? He was good enough to come back?

There was another pause before his mother said, slightly breathless, “Narukami-san, we couldn’t possibly ask you two to watch Akira for us. You both are hard-working young men, I’m sure the last thing you want to do is take care of a child all day!”

Arisato-san shook his head. “It wouldn’t be any trouble,” he said. “As I’ve said before, I work from home and Yu here only works evenings at the Inn. And between Yu’s little cousin and my cousin, Maiko, we’re pretty used to watching kids.”

“But we understand if you need some time to think it over,” Narukami-san quickly added, giving both Akira and his mother another smile. “Just know that the offer’s on the table. But we shouldn’t keep you both any longer, it’s getting so late and we weren’t sure what time Akira-kun normally ate dinner so…”

Akira stopped paying attention to the grownup talk after that, his mother’s words barely registering because all he could think about was his neighbors, his weird, cool neighbors who collected rocks and weird keys and made friends with foxes, were maybe going to be his new sitters. He would maybe see them everyday and have cookies and hot chocolate and not have to worry about rules. Akira couldn’t stop the smile from growing on his face as he thought about Arisato-san or Narukami-san picking him up from school and hearing more stories and having more homework help instead of just going back to his own house with Mitsuko-san and having to do everything by himself.

So caught up in his excitement over the prospect of his maybe-new sitters, it wasn’t until both Akira and his mother had gave the neighbors their goodbyes and where walking hand in hand down the sidewalk to their own house that Akira finally noticed the palm sized pink stone still resting in his hand.

Akira stared at for a moment, felt the warm, peaceful feeling it gave him, and then smiled, shoving the stone into his pocket before his mother caught him. Hopefully, he’d give it back to Narukami-san tomorrow after school.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back. Thank you to everyone for the brief wait and thank you for understanding that editing while sick isn't that feasible. Did you guys know that you can, apparently, catch Covid-19 twice? Or at least, after you've had Covid-19 before and you catch something that's similar to it, your doctor will tell you that you've got it again. I digress. I'm fine now, save for a cough that just refuses to go. But yeah, I'm fine and back with the proper chapter three.
> 
> And I'm sorry for not responding to the well-wishes on the fake chapter three but thank you very much! I'm really thankful for the wonderful words of kindness!
> 
> Thank you again to everyone for the wait and please enjoy the chapter!

“It’s pink.”

Akira, who had been staring at his lucky charm with a wide smile, jerked his head up to glare at his fellow classmate. “That’s not the important part,” he said, for what felt like the millionth-time. “Here, hold it again.”

He plopped the rose quartz stone into Jiro-kun’s open palm and the chubby-cheeked boy jumped with surprise, almost falling off the park’s bench. Sitting beside him, hugging her red backpack to her chest, Aki-chan tracked the stone with wide eyes. “How does it feel this time, Jiro-kun?” she asked as she brushed back a strand of brown hair.

Jiro-kun, who had been frowning down at the stone himself, snorted and carelessly tossed the stone back at Akira. He fumbled with it for a moment before he managed to properly catch it. “It’s just a stupid rock, Aki-chan,” he said and Akira couldn’t help but hold the charm close as childish indignation rose up within him. Unaware or uncaring of Akira’s glare, Jiro-kun continued on. “Magic rocks aren’t even real. They’re just made-up like throwing your baby teeth down or Santa.”

“I didn’t say it was magic,” Akira said, ignoring how he’d been secretly thinking it ever since Narukami-san had told him to keep the stone. “It’s a rose quartz rock and it can help you when you’re feeling hurt or sad. Arisato-san told me so.”

Around them, other kids were running around with their backpacks either resting against the trees or were being used as makeshift weapons as they played there games. The heavy rains of May had given way to the hotter, more humid early June air so instead of puffy jackets, all of the kids were in their summer uniforms. 

“Well, I still think it’s really pretty even if it isn’t magic, Akira-kun,” Aki-chan said cheerfully and Akira could only sigh. His classmates just didn’t get it.

It had been only a week since his neighbors had become his new after-school sitters, a decision that his parents had been quick to agree on, but Akira could already say that he had the best after-school sitters in the whole history of the world. Arisato-san was never late in picking Akira up, they always had an after-school snack waiting for him on the table, and both Narukami-san and Arisato-san were always more than happy to help him with his homework. And best of all, they never got mad when he asked them questions about things. In just seven days, the time after school had become Akira’s favorite time of the day and he wasn’t afraid to show it. Which was why, after Jiro-kun had called him a liar when he’d told the boy about Arisato-san’s blue hair, he’d invited his two classmates to wait with him on the park’s bench to see for themselves one of Akira’s awesome neighbors.

Jiro-kun snorted again and crossed his arms over his chest, jutting his chin out like the heroes did in the cartoons. “Sure, it’s pretty for a girl,” he said, side-eyeing Akira. “But it’s just a rock. And I still think you’re lying about it. Grownups don’t do things like keep rocks and toys and swords. They keep magazines and picture frames and stuff like that.”

Aki-chan held her hand up like they were in class. “My dad collects baseball cards,” she said. “But he’s right, Akira-kun, my mom does keep a lot of magazines. Maybe you just forgot where you actually got the rock?”

Akira felt his cheeks turn red and his grip on the rose quartz grew tighter. “I didn’t forget,” he said, doing his best not to raise his voice. If the after-school caretakers thought he was shouting, they’d come over and take whatever they thought they were fighting over. Namely, his lucky charm. “And I’m not lying. Narukami-san and Arisato-san aren’t like other grownups. They’re cool and their house is cool and they gave me this stone ‘cause they have like, a hundred others and they said that I should have it ‘cause I like it.”

His words seemed to have little effect on his classmates. Jiro-kun just rolled his eyes again and Aki-chan sent him a sad smile, the kind of smile she sent to kids littler than them whenever they did something dumb, and Akira couldn’t help but puff his cheeks out in frustration.  _ You just wait until Arisato-san gets here, _ he thought to himself, drawing his legs close to his chest as he held onto his lucky charm.  _ He’ll prove I’m not a liar. _

“Ah, Akira-kun!”

The familiar voice ringing across the park made Akira pop his head up and out of the corner of his eye, he saw both Jiro-kun and Aki-chan do the same. But instead of Arisato-san, it was Narukami-san who was standing at the edge of the sidewalk. When he saw that he’d gotten Akira’s attention, he smiled wide and waved at him and in his other hand, Akira saw he was holding something wrapped in parchment paper. Beside him, Jiro-kun sniffed loudly.

“His hair is grey,” he said and Akira bristled at the unspoken accusation. “I thought you said your ‘awesome cool sitter’ had blue hair.”

Akira glared at him as he quickly stuffed his lucky charm back into his pocket. “Arisato-san does have blue hair,” he said as he hopped down from the bench, his backpack strapped firmly to his back. “That’s Narukami-san. He lives with Arisato-san ‘cause they’re best friends and houses here are a lot of money.”

Whatever Jiro-kun was about to say next was swiftly interrupted by the grownup in question himself walking over to the three kids, sending a few of the after-school caretakers friendly waves as he did. Akira watched, surprised, as the caretakers all gave Narukami-san smiles and waves back. When Arisato-san picked him up, the caretakers always gave him weird looks at his hair and clothes. Maybe they just really didn’t like his blue hair? Why did the grownups have such a problem with blue hair? His parents didn’t seem to mind so maybe the after-school caretakers were just weird? Akira had to stop wondering how some grownups thought, they just didn’t make sense to him sometimes.

“How was school today, Akira-kun?” Narukami-san asked as he finally reached the bench. He crouched down like Arisato-san always did when he came to pick him up. “Are you surprised to see me? I know Arisato-san always picks you up but it’s so nice out today, I wanted a turn.”

Akira smiled back at him, though he made sure that it wasn’t too wide with too many teeth like his mother always reminded him. “We practiced our hiragana today,” he said. “And during recess today, I showed my classmates the rose quartz you gave me… but Jiro-kun and Aki-chan didn’t believe me. They said grownups don’t collect rocks.”

He couldn’t help but glance backwards at Jiro-kun and Aki-chan as he spoke, both of whom were blushing as he mentioned them, and when he turned back to Narukami-san, his sitter had on a smaller, warmer smile. “Well, I’m glad that you like the stone so much,” he said. He glanced behind Akira’s shoulder at his classmates and winked at them. “And I promise, Akira was telling you the truth. We have way too many rocks at our house.”

“Like the purple one that’s as big as my head,” Akira piped up helpfully and Narukami-san laughed.

“It’s not that big but yeah, like the amethyst,” he said and then he beckoned Akira closer, holding out the parchment paper to him. “But here, before it gets too cold. I made you a snack for the road.”

Akira took the parchment paper and then had to hold back a happy whine as he unwrapped it to reveal a perfectly baked anpan bun. “Thank you, Narukami-san!” he nearly screamed before he took a big bite. Like all of Narukami-san’s snacks, the bun was perfect and the best thing ever. The bread was warm, the red bean paste was sweet, and Akira hummed happily as the familiar warm bubbly feeling grew in his chest.

Narukami-san laughed again, that time softer, and stood up. “You’re very welcome,” he said. He reached out wordlessly and Akira wasted no time in grabbing his sitter’s hand. “Now let’s get going. Minato’s waiting for us and I know he’ll love to hear about your day too. Say goodbye to your friends.”

Akira swallowed down his mouthful of anpan and turned to give Jiro-kun and Aki-chan a little wave with his bun. He couldn’t help but feel a little bit smug at the gobsmacked expressions on both of their faces and the smile he gave them was just a little bit on the mean side.  _ Told you I wasn’t lying, _ he thought as Narukami-san led him to the sidewalk, making sure to call out his goodbyes to the after-school caretakers.

As the two made their way down the sidewalk and towards their neighborhood, Narukami-san swung their hands back and forth like a kid himself, making Akira giggle with each over-exaggerated swing. Unlike his walks with Arisato-san, which were quieter as his blue-haired sitter seemed to like listening more than talking, his walk with Narukami-san was much louder as he chatted about how his morning had been, about how much fun it had been making the anpan buns, and how Arisato-san had managed to sneak one off the pan.

“See if that little thief gets anymore buns from me,” Narukami-san scoffed, though Akira knew he was just joking.

His own anpan bun already eaten, it was just too good to savor, Akira jumped over a crack on the sidewalk and then looked up at Narukami-san. He wasn’t unhappy to be picked up by him, it was a nice change, but he wanted to know why. Was it just because of the nice weather? His sitter noticed his stare and like always, there was a flash of sadness on his face before it disappeared behind another smile.

“You can always ask questions, Akira-kun,” he reminded him and Akira felt himself settle.

“Why didn’t Arisato-san come pick me up too?” he asked, jumping over another crack. “I wanted Jiro-kun and Aki-chan to see his blue hair. They thought I was lying about that too.”

Narukami-san was quiet for a moment, though his hand never left Akira’s so he couldn’t have been mad at him, before he murmured, “No one ever believes our hair is natural.”

Akira blinked up at him, slightly confused, but Narukami-san chuckled and swung their joined hands up high in the air, high enough that Akira jumped up along with it. “I’m sure he’ll be very sorry to miss meeting your friends,” he said. “But don’t worry. Minato just caught a little cold last night so we decided to let him rest at home while I got you.”

_ A cold? In summer? _

“Is he gonna be okay?” Akira asked, a kernel of worry starting to grow in his chest, but Narukami-san was quick to assure him that Arisato-san was going to be fine.

“All he needs is a good cup of tea and to hear about your day,” he said as they followed the sidewalk into their neighborhood. “And he’ll be fine. And don’t worry about catching it, no one ever catches Minato’s colds. But if I catch him sneaking off with my buns again, he’ll have more to worry about than just a cold.”

Akira giggled. “No sweets for a week,” he said and then he laughed again, louder and more wild, as Narukami-san grabbed his other hand and swung him high up into the air.

“No sweets for a month,” he countered as he swung Akira up again, laughing as Akira kicked his legs out.

“No sweets for a year!” Akira shouted as they finally reached his neighbor’s house, screeching happily as Narukami-san swung him up past the walkway and straight onto the front door’s step.

As he regained his footing, his chest still shaking from his laughter, Akira watched as Narukami-san placed his hands on his hips and nodded with a very serious expression on his face. “No sweets for a whole year is a fine punishment for such a dastardly thief,” he said and he grinned when Akira laughed again.

“Here,” he said, joining Akira at the door and reaching out to unlock it. “Why don’t you go inform Minato of his fate? He’s in the living room.”

Akira wasted no time in scurrying into the house, making sure to quickly slip his shoes off before leaving the entryway, and the moment he saw Arisato-san sitting on the couch, bundled up in a grey blanket and with a book in his hand, he raced toward him. “Arisato-san,” he said, doing his best not to yell anymore because they were inside and you weren’t allowed to yell inside. “Narukami-san said that ‘cause you stole his bun, you don’t get any sweets for a whole year. I said so too.”

Arisato-san blinked and now that Akira was standing right in front of him, he could see the slight redness around his eyes and in his cheeks. Seeing his other sitter so sick, Akira felt his smile start to fall off his face as he wondered if maybe he was doing a bad thing. Even though Narukami-san told him to do it, maybe he shouldn’t have barged in like that. What if he was just making Arisato-san feel worse? But before he could apologize for bothering him, Arisato-san suddenly leaned back, placed the open book down onto his face with a plop, and let out a loud, long sigh.

“I’ve been betrayed,” he said and from the entryway, Akira heard Narukami-san cackle. “A whole year? How could you do this to me, Akira-kun? I thought you liked me.”

Relief flooded through Akira as he realized that his blue-haired sitter wasn’t mad for real and he smiled, wiggling in place a bit as he did. As Arisato-san continued to moan and groan about his punishment, with Narukami-san insisting he deserved it from the kitchen, Akira couldn’t help but wonder at how lucky he was for having such fun sitters. And after he finally gave into temptation and joined Arisato-san on the couch, taking off his backpack so he could show him his practiced hiragana, he silently hoped that he could have them forever. Even after he was a grownup himself.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon, after Akira had shared his day with Arisato-san and had shown him his hiragana papers, that Arisato-san began coughing. At first they’d been little things, soft huffs of air that Akira barely even noticed. As the clock ticked closer to dinner time though, his tiny coughs had begun to morph into full-chested coughs that made Arisato-san shake with how hard they were. He didn’t seem worried about it and neither did Narukami-san, who would just watch and occasionally ask if he wanted a cup of tea, but the coughs were kind of scary sounding. Both of his sitters assured him again that Akira wasn’t in any danger of catching Arisato-san’s cough and that he was just fine, but Akira couldn’t help but fret with every cough. They sounded like they hurt. His neighbors must have noticed because after another coughing spell that made Arisato-san shake underneath his blanket, Narukami-san stood up from his place on the couch and gave Arisato-san a look.

“I’m making you tea,” he said, not asking this time, and Arisato-san pouted but nodded.

“Yeah, alright,” he said, his voice hoarse from all of his coughing. “Just remember to add some sugar to it this time. The ginger is too strong.”

Akira watched from his place beside Arisato-san as Narukami-san snorted good-naturedly and rolled his eyes. “You complain about it every time and every time I tell you that I can’t add sugar, you need to be able to taste the ginger. Suck it up, buttercup, and let me make you your tea.”

Arisato-san huffed but was smiling and the sight of it made some of Akira’s worry settle down. If his sitter was smiling, then he must be okay, right? He noticed a bit of Arisato-san’s blanket slipping off of him and he quickly grabbed it and bunched it back up next to Arisato-san’s side. He didn’t know a lot about being sick, he’d only ever had a handful of colds and his parents had always just left him with Mitsuko-san whenever he had been sick, but he knew that it was important to stay warm.

He heard a chuckle and then felt a warm hand settle on the top of his head, ruffling up his hair. Akira whined, shaking his head until the hand let go, and he looked up to see Arisato-san smiling down at him. “Thanks, kiddo,” he said and, after another cough, he gave Akira a little nudge off of the couch. “Why don’t you go keep Yu company for a minute? I need a new blanket, this one smells like a sick person.”

Akira dutifully rolled off the couch and gave his blue-haired sitter a frown. “But you are sick,” he said, confused. “Won’t the new blanket get smelly too?”

All Arisato-san did was ruffle Akira’s hair again, despite knowing that Akira didn’t like it when his hair went all puffy, and give him another nudge towards the kitchen. Akira pouted but he let the hair ruffle slide as he padded off into the kitchen where he could see Narukami-san at the counter with a wooden cutting board, a big knife in his hand as he chopped up a bunch of green stuff, and could hear the bubbling water from the big pot on the stove.

Whatever Narukami-san was chopping up smelt really, really good and really, really strong because the minute Akira stepped onto the tiled floor, he let out a sneeze. It smelt like the hand cream his mother would sometimes use after she did the dishes. “Peppermint?” he asked through his slightly watering eyes and he heard Narukami-san make a sound of surprise.

“Very good, Akira-san,” he said as he finished chopping up the peppermint. He gave the knife a quick flick and the green bits that were clinging to it flew off the blade and into the sink, along with the knife after his grey-haired sitter had given it a quick rinse. “Here.”

Akira, who’d been rubbing at his eyes to get rid of the itching, looked up and saw a washcloth being handed to him. He took it happily and rubbed at his whole face, making Narukami-san laugh at him. “I know, it can be very strong,” he said. “I don’t normally use fresh peppermint so I didn’t even think about your poor eyes. You good, Akira-kun?”

He nodded around the washcloth. “Yeah,” he said, his voice muffled. He lowered the washcloth and saw that Narukami-san was crouched down in front of him, a worried expression on his face. He offered him the washcloth. “Thank you.”

Narukami-san smiled as he took the washcloth back but when he raised a hand, clearly intent on ruffling up his hair even more, Akira quickly ducked past him and hurried further into the kitchen. “Careful, Akira-kun,” Narukami-san said and Akira screeched to a halt. “It’s okay, it’s fine. I just don’t want you burning yourself. I have the stove on high right now.”

Akira peaked over at the stove but the pot was too tall for him to see into, though he could still hear the bubbling water. “Narukami-san? Can I ask a question?” he asked and he heard Narukami-san chuckle.

“Of course, Akira-kun.”

He glanced over to the tea kettle sitting on one of the stove’s back burners. “Why are you making Arisato-san’s tea in a pot? Why aren’t you using the tea kettle?”

Narukami-san hummed as he joined Akira at the stove. “Good question,” he said and Akira inwardly preened. Every reminder that he could ask questions without his neighbors getting mad never failed to make him happy. “The reason I’m not using the kettle is because Arisato-san needs a special kind of tea to help with his cold. I make it so often for him, because he catches a lot of colds, that I started making it in big batches instead of one cup at a time. Makes it easier that way.”

Akira listened to his sitter’s explanation as he continued to try and see what the special tea looked like without getting too close to the stove. He heard Narukami-san chuckle again and then suddenly, a pair of hands hooked themselves underneath his arms and he was lifted into the air. “Wanna see?” Narukami-san asked and Akira was too shocked to do anything but nod.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been picked up like that.  _ Narukami-san must be really strong, _ he thought, because what he could remember was his father always telling him that he was too big to carry around like a little kid. “We need to put some meat on your bones, Akira-kun,” Narukami-san mumbled. “You’re too light.”

Ignoring his sitter’s mumbles, Akira looked down into the pot and couldn’t stop the sound of disgust that escaped him. The tea looked gross. Instead of clear green-colored water, like Narukami-san’s tea usually looked, the water in the pot was murky and cloudy and filled with bits of brown stuff, green stuff, even yellow stuff. It smelt okay, like spicy and sweet at the same time, but it looked awful.

Akira was quiet as, after another moment of being held in the air, Narukami-san gently set him back down. But the moment his feet touched the ground, he looked up at his sitter and made a face. “Does Arisato-san actually have to drink that?” he asked, forgetting his manners.

Luckily, Narukami-san didn’t seem to be upset. Instead, he laughed out loud and Akira couldn’t help but smile along with him. “It does look a little nasty, huh?” Narukami-san said after he’d gotten himself pulled back together. “Don’t worry. I’ll strain it before I give it to him. Without the floating bits in it, it’s actually not that bad. Minato just likes to complain.”

Akira personally doubted that but stayed silent as Narukami-san picked up a large wooden spoon and gave the “tea” a few good stirs. It was a little weird for him, standing in the kitchen as Narukami-san cooked. He was never allowed in the kitchen when his mother was cooking so it was a new experience for him, leaning up against Narukami-san’s side as he listened to the bubbling tea and the sound of the wooden spoon hitting the edges of the pot. It was a little weird… but it was also kinda nice.

He let out a little sigh and dared to lean even closer to Narukami-san, who glanced down at him with a smile before he wrapped his free arm around Akira’s shoulder, giving him a squeeze. “Getting tired? Don’t worry. Your mom said she should be here to pick you up before dinner.”

Akira remained quiet, not really feeling like admitting that he had no problem if his mother was late in picking him up. He loved his parents and his bed was pretty comfy, but his sitters’ house was so nice and warm and fun. More than once during the week, Akira had secretly hoped that maybe his parents would be too tired to come pick him up and then he’d get to have a sleepover with Narukami-san and Arisato-san with hot chocolate and snacks. But that never happened. Still, there was always a chance it might happen so Akira remained hopeful.

Snuggling into his sitter’s side, Akira sighed again and closed his eyes. Narukami-san gave the best hugs. A long moment of quiet passed in the kitchen as Akira listened to the bubbling water before he heard… something in his ears. At first he thought it was just a breeze or maybe Narukami-san was adding more ingredients to the tea. But as the sound grew louder and louder, Akira’s eyes shot open and his hand shot up to grip at Narukami-san’s shirt tightly.

_ “...hello, hello, little one!” _

The voice was soft and high-pitched, like a girl’s, and it made Akira’s heart skip a beat because it sounded like the voice was speaking right into his ear. Slowly, too scared to let go of Narukami-san, Akira glanced over his shoulder to see just where the weird voice was coming from, but he didn’t see anything. There was no one behind him. And yet, even as he saw the empty space in front of him, Akira heard the voice giggle and he let out a whimper.

“Akira-kun?”

_ “...so cute, so small! Welcome, welcome, little one!” _

Akira whimpered again and shoved his face into Narukami-san’s side, his stomach doing flips even as he felt his sitter wrap his arm more firmly around him. The voice continued to giggle and speak to him but Akira did his best to avoid listening to whatever it was. Tears sprang into his eyes and he felt his body start to shake with fear and confusion.

“Akira-kun, what’s wrong?” he heard Narukami-san ask but Akira couldn’t answer because of the lump stuck in his throat. The voice cooed in his ear and finally, Akira couldn’t take it. He knew he was too old for it and that his parents hated it, but he started to cry. Narukami-san let out a concerned noise and tried to pull Akira away from him but Akira refused to budge, taking two big handfuls of Narukami-san’s shirt and holding on tight.

“Akira-kun, are you okay? Are you hurt? Minato! Something’s wrong!”

A series of loud footsteps from the upstairs was Akira’s only warning before he heard Arisato-san race down the stairs. He still didn’t lift his head from Narukami-san’s side, not when the strange voice was still whispering into his ear, but he did manage to cry even harder when he felt additional hands on his shoulders.

“Kiddo, what’s wrong?” he heard Arisato-san ask, his voice still slightly stuffy from his cold. “Kiddo, we need you to talk to us. Are you hurt?”

“We’re not mad at you,” Narukami-san tried to assure him as he continued to try to get Akira to let go of him. “I promise. We just need you to tell us what’s wrong so we can fix it. Deep breaths, Akira-kun. Come on now, please tell us what’s wrong.”

_ “Ooh, poor little one,” the scary voice crooned into his ear. “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared!” _

Akira let out a sob and, though he still refused to move, managed to stutter out, “T-There’s a voice. A girl’s voice and i-it’s whispering t-to me. I-I don’t like it!”

He felt both Arisato-san and Narukami-san freeze and with no one trying to pull him away from Narukami-san’s side anymore, he burrowed in as close as he could get. But no matter how hard he tried to hide from it, the voice continued to whisper to him.

_ “Don’t cry, don’t cry! Oh, poor little one.” _

“A voice?” Arisato-san repeated and unlike normal, his voice was hard and almost as scary sounding as whoever was whispering to him. “Akira-kun, what are you talking about?”

But before Akira could say anything else or apologize for crying because he knew how annoying it was, he felt Narukami-san let out a sudden laugh and he sounded so relieved that Akira paused in his tears. Arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders and pulled him in tight for another hug and Akira felt his fear start to melt away as Narukami-san continued to laugh.

“Yu?” Arisato-san asked, no longer sounding scary and Akira heard Narukami-san let out a happy sigh.

“It’s okay, Minato,” he said, giving Akira a squeeze. “It’s fine. Didn’t you hear him? He’s hearing a girl’s voice. In our kitchen.”

Silence filled the kitchen, with even the strange voice going quiet, before Akira suddenly heard Arisato-san let out a long, loud sigh. “Oh for the love of…” Arisato-san groaned and he reached out to run his fingers through Akira’s hair. It felt nice and helped to calm Akira’s nerves enough that he caught the quiet name that Arisato-san mumbled under his breath.

“Pixie.”


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Umm... hi. I'm really sorry about how long it took to get this chapter out. Things happened and life got weird. And I have a cat now. But I've been working, slowly but surely, on this fic and I refuse to abandon it again. Never again. So please, enjoy the chapter and feel free to yell at me for being so late. I kind of deserve it. As always, constructive criticism is more than welcomed!

“Kiddo, it’s okay. I think she’s just trying to say hello.” 

Sniffling, Akira dared to lift his face from Narukami-san’s side. His blue-haired sitter was rubbing at his forehead and he had a tired look on his face that Akira had seen before on other grownups. It was the kind of look they gave to little kids when they were annoyed at them but didn’t want to yell. He’d seen it on his father’s face often and Akira didn’t want to make the look worse by asking anymore questions, especially after he’d already started crying. But Narukami-san’s arms were still wrapped tightly around him, holding him close, and the weird voice had gone quiet so Akira mustered up the courage to speak.

“A-Arisato-san?” he asked.

He watched as Arisato-san closed his eyes, took in a deep breath, and then the scary, annoyed look disappeared from his face, leaving behind only a tired looking smile. “It’s okay, Akira-kun,” he said again and he crouched down before holding out his hand. “You’re perfectly safe, she’s not going to hurt you.”

Akira shakily reached out and took the offered hand, that time not fighting against the gentle pull out of Narukami-san’s arms. His cheeks were still sticky wet from his tears and he reached up with his free hand to rub at his face. “S-She?” he asked and he let out a little shriek when the strange voice from before let out a giggle.

_ “No more tears, little one,” _ it whispered into his ear.  _ “So sorry, so sorry!” _

“Easy,” Narukami-san said, obviously seeing how nervous Akira still was. “You’re just hearing a very good friend of ours, Akira-kun.”

He kept a hand on Akira’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze, before he said into the air, louder and more firm, “Alright, Pixie. You’ve said hello but the prank’s no fun if you’re scaring him, right? That’s enough for today.”

A long moment of silence filled his sitters’ house before Akira heard the voice let out a sad sounding sigh. Then he felt the softest of touches against his face, almost as if he’d been booped right on the nose. He jolted but Arisato-san’s hold on his hand and Narukami-san’s hold on his shoulder prevented him from flinching away too far.

_ “No more fun today,” _ the voice said in a sing-songy voice and Akira couldn’t help himself, he raised a hand to rub at his nose with a shaky huff.  _ “So sorry for the scare, little one. No more pranks, promise!” _

And then the voice was gone, just as suddenly as it had appeared, and Akira must have had a funny look on his face because Narukami-san laughed again. Then he quickly held up his hands in mock surrender when Arisato-san shot a glare at him.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said, keeping his hands up even as Arisato-san’s glare disappeared. “I know this is no laughing matter. But it’s just Pixie, Minato. I thought something was really wrong there for a minute.”

Akira rubbed at his face again, he hated how itchy his face was after crying, and he gratefully followed Arisato-san’s lead when the man let out a huff and stood up from his kneeling position. “Are you okay, Akira-kun?” he asked, waiting for Akira to nod before he gently led him out of the kitchen and towards the living room. Narukami-san was quick to follow them, though only after he’d turned the kitchen’s stove off. “That must have been very scary for you, hearing Pixie like that but like I said before, I promise you’re safe.”

“Pixie really doesn’t mean any harm,” Narukami-san chimed in as Arisato-san led the three of them to the couch. “She was probably just curious about you since you’ve been over so much recently. But she shouldn’t have scared you like that. We never want you to feel scared in our home.”

Akira allowed himself to be pulled onto the couch along with Arisato-san and he happily accepted the offered Pyro Jack doll after Narukami-san had plucked it from the bookshelf. The doll was funny looking with his pumpkin head and although Akira knew he was way too old to be playing with dolls, the doll was always warm to the touch and made for the perfect stuffed toy to hold close. And he knew that his sitters wouldn’t make fun of him for holding onto it so tightly.

“I’m okay,” he said, though his words were slightly muffled from the doll’s soft pumpkin head. “I’m sorry that I cried a-and that I didn’t listen before.”

Both of his sitters looked confused for a moment before Arisato-san tsked under his breath. “Don’t apologize for being scared, Akira-kun,” he said. He reached out and gave Akira’s forehead a soft poke, which meant he wanted Akira to really pay attention to his words. “It's us who are sorry. We’re the adults, it’s our job to make sure you’re okay. You were scared. It’s alright to cry a little if you’re scared. You have nothing to be sorry about, alright?”

Akira nodded and then sighed happily when Narukami-san ran his fingers through his hair. “Minato’s right,” he said as he settled down next to Akira on the couch. “And I shouldn’t have laughed. I’m very sorry, Akira-kun.”

With the Pyro Jack doll in his arms and both sitters by his sides, Akira felt the last of his panic melt away. After all, if neither Arisato-san or Narukami-san were scared then why should he be so worried? They’d never let anything bad happen to him.

“The weird voice is your friend?” he asked, curiosity beginning to bloom now that he wasn’t so frightened.

Arisato-san nodded but it was Narukami-san who spoke up. “Yep,” he said. He had his legs crossed over each other and in his lap was the Jack Frost doll. “Her name is Pixie and she’s been friends with Minato and I for a really long time. Since we were both teenagers, in fact.”

“Have you ever heard of a fairy, Akira-kun?” Arisato-san asked and Akira had to think for a moment before he slowly shook his head. His blue-haired sitter didn’t seem surprised by his lack of knowledge. “Fairies are little spirits who live in places like forests and rivers. They’re nature spirits and they can live for thousands of years.”

A memory, fuzzy with time, of his teacher mentioning an old story from long ago tickled at the back of Akira’s mind as he listened to his sitter’s explanation. “Like a kodama?” he asked and he felt a rush of glee when Arisato-san nodded.

“A lot like them, actually,” Arisato-san said, resting against the arm of the couch. “But fairies are a lot different too. They’re magical, less divine. And they come from a land very far away from Japan.”

Akira’s eyes grew wider and wider the more Arisato-san spoke and he hugged the Pyro Jack doll closer and closer. “She’s magic?” he asked breathlessly. “Like, real magic? Not the fake magic you see on T.V?”

Narukami-san and Arisato-san shared a look over his head, their eyes serious for a moment, before Narukami-san chuckled. “She’s real magic,” he said and Akira felt a bubble of excitement start to build in his chest. “And she’s a good kind of spirit too so don’t be scared. Fairies like to play tricks on people sometimes but they’re always harmless little jokes. Like stealing your shoes or getting you lost on purpose. I don’t think she meant to scare you so badly.”

Akira looked down at the plush in his hands for a moment. “She said sorry a lot to me,” he admitted as he pulled softly at the doll’s funny pumpkin head. “And she told me not to cry. She didn’t sound mean or anything. Her voice is really soft.”

Narukami-san smiled. “It is, isn’t it. I’m actually surprised you were able to hear her, Akira-kun. Pixie is normally very shy around strangers.” He suddenly grinned and ruffled Akira’s hair again. “She must like you.”

A mixture of excitement and nerves fluttered in Akira’s belly at that and he held the Pyro Jack doll close to his chest, not even minding how Narukami-san was puffing up his hair. “I don’t know,” he said. He raised his eyes from his pumpkin plush and looked at both of his sitters. “But how did you meet her if she’s a magic fairy? Is she the only one or are there more? Are they nice too? Why can’t I see her? Where does she live?”

Both Arisato-san and Narukami-san laughed softly at the steady stream of questions he couldn’t help but ask but even as Akira tried his best to keep his mouth shut, his neighbors didn’t seem to be upset. Arisato-san even reached out to boop him right on the nose, right where Pixie had booped him not minutes ago.

“We know you have a lot of questions,” he said and laughed again when Akira began to frown.  _ That’s what every grownup says right before they say… _ “But I think we’d better wait until tomorrow to answer them. I know this has been a very exciting night but our story with Pixie is very long and your mom is going to be here soon to pick you up. So why don’t we spend the rest of your time here calming down and then tomorrow, we’ll see about answering all of your questions about our fairy friend, okay?”

Akira tried his best not to look too disappointed but judging by Narukami-san’s snort, he must not have done a very good job. “Ah, Akira-kun,” he said with a fond smile. “Don’t worry, we’re not mad at your questions and we will answer them. Promise! But Minato is right, we’ll talk more about Pixie tomorrow.”

Akira couldn’t stop the sigh that escaped him as he burrowed his face into the Pyro Jack doll’s soft pumpkin head. “Arisato-san is always right,” he said, words muffled, and he pouted when all Narukami-san did was laugh.

“Isn’t it the worst,” he said after his laughter had died down. He set his Jack Frost plush to the side and then swept Akira up into his arms, causing him to let out a shriek of happy surprise. “But I guess that’s what we get. He is older than us.”

“With age comes wisdom,” Arisato-san said with a sigh, resting his chin against his hand and doing absolutely nothing to save Akira from Narukami-san’s wiggly fingers running up and down his sides. “And weren’t we just talking about calming down for the night, Yu? I think your method there is a little flawed.”

Narukami-san hummed but relented, letting Akira catch his breath after the sudden tickle attack. “I guess,” he said as he smiled down at Akira, who was more than happy to stay in Narukami-san’s arms now that he wasn’t torturing him. In the safety of his own head, as he rested his head against his grey-haired sitter’s shoulder, he wondered at how much fun his neighbors were.

_ It’s like having two big brothers, _ he thought with a hidden grin. He silently wished that his sitters could be his big brothers for real, despite knowing how silly that wish was.

And just like that, Akira’s accidental fairy-discovery was temporarily swept away from his mind as Narukami-san suggested a nice cup of warm milk.

It wasn’t until his mother picked him up after he’d finished his mug of milk, made special with a dab of honey and a sprinkle of cinnamon, that the idea of his sitters’ strange magical friend came back into Akira’s mind.

* * *

“Did you have a good day today, Akira?” his mother asked as the two of them walked away from their neighbors’ door. As always, Narukami-san and his mother had chatted about grownup stuff while Arisato-san had helped Akira with his shoes so she had a happy smile on her face despite how stressed she’d said her work was.

He nodded and ignored the temptation to jump over the sidewalk lines. While Narukami-san was always ready to swing him around as they walked, his mother didn’t like it. She said that it hurt her arms. “It was good,” he said. “We practiced our hiragana and I showed my friends the rose quartz Narukami-san gave me.”

“Your stone? I hadn’t realized that Narukami-san had given it to you,” his mother admitted, using her free hand to dig into her purse for their house keys. “I thought you might have found it at school or something. Did your hiragana come out well?”

Akira dutifully told his mother all about his schoolwork as she hurried him into their house, muttering under her breath about how desperately she needed to be out of her heels. When it became very clear that she wasn’t really listening however, Akira fell quiet as he put both his backpack and shoes away before going over to the couch. His mother, after pulling off her own shoes and letting out a big sigh of relief, went into the kitchen and Akira couldn’t help but compare their kitchen to the one right next door; where Narukami-san had jars and shelves and pictures on the fridge, his mother’s kitchen was boringly bare.

_ I bet a fairy would never visit our house, _ Akira thought to himself as his earlier fairy discovery came floating back into his mind. As his mother set her purse down on the counter, she noticed Akira staring into the kitchen and she gave him a tired-looking smile.

“Well, I’m glad that you had a good day,” she said. She reached up to undo the bun in her hair and as she did, she asked, “Did anything else exciting happen?”

Akira thought about the soft, sing-songy voice from nowhere and the invisible boop to his nose. He thought about Pixie, his neighbors’ mysterious magical friend who he had heard but for some reason hadn’t seen. He wondered if maybe his mother would know anything about fairies. They seemed like something only grownups would know about, since he’d never heard anything about them from his classmates. So as his mother made her way around the kitchen, making sure that the plate she’d made for his father when he came home later that night was still safe in the fridge, Akira opened his mouth and said, “I heard about fairies today.”

* * *

His hands were still shaking, even after gulping down Yu’s potion. It was a bad habit he’d picked up after… well, after everything, but it was one that Minato had never really bothered to address. He’d been promised a new start, a clean slate. They both had been promised a life away from the stresses that would make his hands shake. And yet, there he was. Sitting on his couch with another blanket tucked firmly around his shoulders, Yu’s voice nervous and shaky from the office as he apologized to his grandmother again for waking her up because it was still so early in Grasmere, his tarot deck splayed out on the coffee table. And in his lap, his hands were still shaking.

“Alright, Nana,” Yu said at last as he walked back into the living room, his grip on his cellphone tight. “Thanks again and I’ll let you know if anything else comes up. Say hi to Jiji for me, okay?”

Minato curled further into the throw blanket as Yu hung up the phone with a sigh before he raised a hand to rub at his neck. He looked just as worried as Minato felt. Silence filled their home, thick and heavy, and Minato couldn’t help but hate it. He’d had enough heavy silences in both his lifetimes and he’d hoped that their home would be safe from them.

A foolish hope, apparently.

Yu glanced at him and then at the coffee table, at the mad array of cards that Minato knew he had trouble reading. He then plopped himself down onto the couch and Minato wasted no time in leaning against him, giving into the childish desire to bury his face into his neck. “What did your grandmother say?” he asked into Yu’s neck and he felt more than heard him sigh again.

“That Akira-kun most likely has some magical potential, if his attachment to his rose quartz and his ability to hear Pixie says anything. That we shouldn’t worry about him,” he said as he wrapped his arms around both Minato and the throw blanket. “And that we’re overthinking the whole situation.”

Minato couldn’t help but snort. “I bet she’d have a different opinion if you’d told her the truth about our high school adventures. Have you tried asking Pixie anything?”

“She’s conveniently decided to make herself scarce, apparently,” Yu said with a frustrated huff. “I think she’s picked up on our emotions and is laying low to avoid the exact kind of talk we want to have with her.”

“And it’s not like she’d probably have much to say on the matter,” Minato added reluctantly. “It’s not like she can remember her time as a persona very well out here in the real world. But if she does show back up, we’ll try to get more information out of her. She can at least tell us why she decided to show herself to Akira-kun in the first place.”

Yu hummed in agreement but didn’t say anything more, simply tightening his grip around Minato’s waist. They sat there on the couch for a long moment, Minato taking solace in the feel of Yu’s pulse against his lips, before Yu spoke up again.

“What do they say?” he asked and when Minato pulled away from him, he saw Yu’s eyes locked onto the tarot cards.

With a huff, Minato wiggled his arms free from both the throw blanket and his boyfriend and moved to sit closer to the edge of the couch, resting his elbows against his knees. “I tried a few spreads,” he said, feeling Yu move closer to his side. “Three Cards, Five Cards, the Celtic Cross. And with every spread, three cards kept gaining my attention.”

He gathered the other cards back into the deck, leaving only the three on the coffee table, and he heard Yu inhale sharply. Yu’s grasp on tarot readings had never been as strong as Minato’s; he was as traditional as his grandmother and neither of them had a connection with the cards. But despite that, Yu’s time dealing with the Midnight Channel had given him a clearer vision of them so it made Minato’s explanation of them all the easier.

“The Eight of Swords, upright,” he murmured as he ran his fingers over the cards for Yu’s eyes to follow. “Imprisonment and entrapment. The Hierophant, reversed. Rebellion. And…”

He trailed off as he saw Yu reach out to the last card himself, watching as he picked it up with a dark look on his face. “The Fool,” Yu said, staring down at the oh, so familiar card like an old friend he’d never wanted to see again. “New beginnings, an adventure awaits.”

Minato was quiet as Yu examined the card as if it would change the longer he stared at it, before he asked, softly, “Yu? What are we going to do? Akira-kun is so little and ‘Imprisonment’? ‘Rebellion’? He’s a child!”

Yu shook his head and placed the card back down on the table, the fear written clearly on his face matching the fear in Minato’s chest. “I don’t know, Minato,” he said. “But he heard Pixie. Our Pixie. Not even our friends can hear her. Mix that in with the Fool and I think we both know what that means.”

“Just because I know what it means doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it,” Minato said, wincing at how childish he sounded.

“Whatever happens, we’ll make sure he’s at least prepared,” Yu said, breaking the momentary tense silence between them. “We won’t tell him everything. It’ll just scare him. But we can teach him things, things that can be very useful in case your cards are right.”

Minato scoffed and gave Yu a look. “And what are we going to tell his parents? ‘We’re teaching your seven year old witchcraft because there’s a chance he’ll get entangled in an eon-long tug-of-war between two ancient creatures’? I don’t know if you’ve picked up on it yet, but I’m pretty sure they would have never let us watch Akira-kun after school if they knew we were together. How do you think they’ll react to us teaching him witchcraft?”

A very telling silence was the only answer Yu gave him and Minato sighed, a headache beginning to form despite the potion. “Yu, we can’t ask him to lie to his parents. He’s seven! And it’s wrong. We shouldn’t even be talking about this, he’s not our child.”

“So we’re just supposed to sit here and ignore all of the signs blaring in our faces?” Yu asked, his voice rising slightly in frustration. “Akira-kun might not be ours but if he’s another Wild Card, then we should do everything we can to make sure he can face the trials ahead of him.”

Minato sighed again and, noticing how upset Yu was starting to become and wanting to be close, carefully climbed into his boyfriend’s lap and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Despite everything, he couldn’t help but smile as Yu’s arms immediately wrapped around him in turn, holding him secure and safe. His smile lived a brief life though, as he felt Yu’s fingers dig into his shirt with a shaky sigh.

They were at a stand-still. Minato knew that they both were painfully aware of the horrible implications of asking a seven year old to lie to his parents. Akira’s parents weren’t bad, per say, just absent and busy. The idea of making him lie to them, even with their purely good intentions, felt scummy and wrong. But to leave Akira unprepared, especially if he was a fellow Wild Card, felt just as wrong. He thought about his own journey, of the terror of the Dark Hour, the losses they all suffered, and the overwhelming stress of knowing that the fate of the world is on your shoulders. He thought about Yu’s adventure and the Midnight Channel. He thought of Nyx and Erebus, of Izanami-no-Okami, of all the various horrors they and their friends had witnessed.

And then he tried to imagine Akira, their adorable little neighbor who was always so hesitant to make a fuss, being forced to face some horrible, deadly monstrosity and he curled further into Yu’s embrace. Just the idea was nauseating.

“We have to do something,” Yu mumbled as he buried his face into Minato’s neck. “We can’t just leave this alone, Minato.”

Minato sighed and glanced up at their massive bookcase, easily finding the two blue keys that had been placed there with extreme care. The masks painted on their ends almost seemed to mock him with their creepy expressions. He tightened his hold on Yu further and sighed again. “We most likely have some time before his persona awakens. We were both in high school, we have to assume his journey will be the same. We’ll just… take it one day at a time, okay? We’ll answer Akira-kun’s questions about Pixie tomorrow and then just… take it from there.”

Yu let out a small huff but thankfully didn’t call Minato out for his indecisiveness. He instead simply readjusted his grip around Minato’s waist and held him close. And even though the silence around them was still tense and the cards on the coffee table still loomed over their heads, Minato couldn’t help but feel a tiny part of him settle as he was held so preciously.

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered into Yu’s ear, though his eyes still once again strayed to the keys shining on the bookcase. “No matter what happens, we’ll keep him safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Likes, comments, and constructive criticism is always appreciated! Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much for reading. Constructive criticism is very welcomed and appreciated.


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